Furniture construction



June 6, 1961 R. w. THOMPSON FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Oct. 31, 1958 INVENTOR RlcHA/eo 14 7/710MP60A/ BY HIS ATTO/PA/EKSHAEQ/S, K/Ech; F5575? 6% Mew/5 June 6, 1961 R. w. THOMPSON 2,987,351

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 31, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 10.[/35 w /aa we /60 /66 1V VE/V 7'02 R/CHA RD W 77/044250 BY HIS A770RNYSHARRIS, M56, Fosnse zi/vhmP/s United States Patent 2,987,361 FURNITURECONSTRUCTION Richard W. Thompson, Salt Lake City, Utah (2611 Avenida LasPalmas, Capistrano Beach, Calif.) Filed Oct. 31, 1958, Ser. No. 771,1472 Claims. (Cl. 312-255) The present invention relates to the furnitureconstruction art and a primary object thereof is to provide a furnitureconstruction which isrigid and sturdy and capable of withstanding agreat deal of use without loosening of the joints thereof, whichincludes components that are easily and economically made and assembled,and which is capable of being embodied in articles of furniture havingan attractive and pleasing appearance.

In general, the invention contemplates, and it is an important objectthereof to provide, a furniture construction, or the like, comprising amulti-component nonmetallic furniture structure and metallic frame meanstherefor including discrete metallic frame members of structural crosssection, i.e., flanged frame members, to which the furniture structureis secured and which rigidly connect the components thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide an article of furniture,or the like, having spaced, generally parallel corners each of whichincludes a frame member having a first flange with a concealed innersurface abutting the furniture structure and an exposed outer surfacefacing away from such structure, and a second flange embedded in andconcealed by the furniture structure and having such structure rigidlysecured thereto, the second flange being embedded in a single componentof, or between two components of, the furniture structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a corner construction ofthe foregoing nature wherein two components of the furniture structurewhich form each of certain corners of the article of furniture havetheir adjacent ends or edges concealed by the corresponding framemember, at least one such end or edge abutting the concealed innersurface of the flange having the exposed outer surface, and the other ofsuch ends or edges preferably abutting one side or surface of theembedded flange.

An important object of the invention is to incorporate the cornerconstruction of the invention in upright, e.g., vertical corners of anarticle of furniture and to extend the frame members downwardly belowthe furniture structure proper to form legs for the article of furniturewhich space the furniture structure thereof upwardly from a floor, orthe like and which are provided with integral glides at their lowerends.

Considering some more specific objects of the invention, an importantone of these is to provide between the concealed inner surface of theexposed flange and the edge of the furniture-structure component whichabuts such concealed inner surface a space forming a groove for thereception of a tongue on the other furniture-structure component of thecorresponding corner construction, such tongue having an edge abuttingone of the concealed surfaces of the embedded flange and having sidesrespectively abutting the sides of the groove mentioned, i.e.,respectively having sides abutting a portion of the concealedinnersurface of the exposed flange and a portion of the edge of thefirst furniture-structure component mentioned.

Still another more specific object, and one which is quite important, isto secure the furniture-structure component which is in edge-abuttingrelation with the concealed inner surface of the exposed flange to theembedded flange by pinning it thereto. Preferably, this is accomplishedby means of nonmetalic dowels extending through the embedded flange andat least part way through the furniture-structure component which is inedge-abut- 7 parts of the corner construction of-FIG.'5;

2 ting relation with the concealed inner surface of the exposed flange.

The foregoing provides anextremely rigid corner construction since thefurniture-structure component which is in edge-abutting relation withthe concealed inner surface of the exposed flange is rigidly pinned tothe embedded flange and since the other furniture-structure component ofthe corner construction is interlocked with the frame member and thepinned furniture-structure component by being provided with a tongueengaging the concealed inner surface of the exposed flange, one of theconcealed inner surfaces of the embedded flange and a portion of theedge of the pinned furniture-structure component.

Another object is to further rigid-ify the corner construction of theinvention by providing the tongued furniture-structure component with asurface which abuts an edge of the exposed outer flange, this alsoserving to recess the exposed flange into the tonguedfurniture-structure component so as to make the exposed outer surface ofsuch component and the outer surface of the exposed In some instances,to further enhance the rigidity of the corner construction of theinvention, the tongued furniture-structure component may be providedwith another surface disposed in abutting relation with one side of thepinned furniture-structure component.

The various objects of the invention hereinbefore outlined may beachieved by utilizing as the frame member of each corner construction amember of T-shaped cross section, and it is an important object of theinvention to provide a corner construction utilizing such a framemember.

With such a T-shaped frame member, the leg of the T forms the embeddedflange and the crossbar of the T forms the exposed flange thereof, theleg of the T being embedded in and pinned to the pinnedfurniture-structure component and the tongued furniture-structurecomponent having its tongue disposed between one half of the crossbar ofthe T and an edge surface of the pinned component, with the edge of thetongue seated against one side of the leg of the T adjacent the crossbarthereof, the tongued component having an edge surface seated against oneedge of the crossbar of the T in instances wherein the crossbar isrecessed.

7 The foregoing objects, advantages, features and results of the presentinvention, together with various other objects, advantages, features andresults thereof which will be evident to those skilled in the art towhich the invention relates, may be achieved with the exemplaryembodiments of the invention described in detail hereinafter andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is anisometric view of an article of furniture which embodies the invention;a

FIG. '2. is a horizontal sectional view taken as indicated by theirregular arrowed line 22 of FIG. 1;

a FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary vertical sectional view taken alongthe arrowed line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the arrowed line 44of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4a is a view similar to FIG. 4, but showing an alternativeconstruction; l FIG. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary isometric viewillustrating a corner construction of the invention embodied in thearticle of furniture of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are fragmentary isometric? views of FIG; 8 is an enlarged,fragmentary horizontal sectional view takenalong the arrowed line 8-8 ofFIG. '1; FIG. 9 is an isometric view of another article .of fur! niturewhich embodies the invention; 1

metric view illustrating a corner construction of them- .ventionembodied in the article of furniture of FIG. 9; a FIG. 13 is afragmentary isometric view of a part of the corner construction of FIG.12; and

FIG. 14 is an isometric view of a detail.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 8 of the drawings, the article offurniture illustrated therein is designated generally by the numeral 30and is shown as having four upright, e. g., vertical, corners 32.Generally considered, the article 30 includes a wooden furniturestructure 34 and a frame means for .such structure which comprisesmetallic frame members 36 respectively located at and incorporated inthe corners 32 to form corner constructions of the invention. Thesecorner constructions are sufficiently similar that only one of them needbe considered in detail to disclose the invention properly, thecornerconstruction to be considered being designated generally by the numeral38.

As best shown in-FIG. of the drawings, the corner construction 38includes adjacent the top thereof one of the frame members 36 and twocomponents 40 and 42 of the furniture structure 34, the components 40and 42 sometimes being referred to as first and second side members,respectively, and forming two sides of the corner construction. The sidemember 40 is a rail which extends across the front of the article offurniture 30 at the top thereof and the side member 42 is a side panelof the article, both of these members being formed of wood in theconstruction illustrated.

The frame member 36 of the corner construction 38 is metallic, e.g.,aluminum, and is T-shaped in cross section, having flanges 44 and 46respectively forming the leg and the crossbar of the T. The crossbar 46has an inner surface 48 which, abuts and is concealed by the furniturestructure 34 and has an outer surface 50 which is exposed and which maybe unfinished, or finished in various ways, as hereinbefore indicated.The leg 44 of the T shaped frame member 36 is embedded in the furniturestructure 34 and the sides thereof form concealed inner surfaces whichabut and are concealed by the furniture structure. 7 Considering thecorner construction 38 in more detail, the rail 40 extends from thecrossbar 46 in perpendicular relation thereto and has an end or edge 54in abutting relation with; and concealed by the'inner surface .48 of thecrossbar. The'end 54 0f the rail 40 is provided with a groove or slot'56in which the leg 44 of the 'T 36 is embedded andconcealed, the surfaces52 of the leg 44 abuttingthe sides of such slot and the edge of the leg44 abutting the bottom thereof.

The rail 40 is rigidly securedto the leg 44"of;the T 36 by dowels 58'disposed in holes-60 in the rail'and extending throughholes 62 in theleg 44. @The dowels 58 are pressed into the holes 60 and 62 and arepreferably secured thereinby a suitable adhesive. Suchadhesive maybe onewhich bonds the dowels to the metal of the leg 44, as well as to thewood of the rail 40.

The when is provided with a surface 64- coextensive with and spaced fromone'half of the inner. surface 48 of the crossbar to'form therebetween agroove 66 the bottom of which is formed by a portion of the corresponding surface 52- of the leg 44 of the T 36. The

l 7 panel 42 is provided with a tongue 68which is disposed I and toprovide a surface 70-abuttingone edge of the 2,987,361 i v f crossbar 46of the T 36, the other edge of the crossbar being flush with the frontof the rail 40. Thus, the crossbar 46 is recessed into the furniturestructure 34 to provide a flush construction.

The panel 42 may be secured to the T 36 and the rail 40 by a suitableadhesive applied to the various abutting surfaces of these parts.Alternatively, or additionally, these parts may be secured together bydriving screws, not shown, through the crossbar 46 of the T 36 andthrough the tongue 68 of the panel 42 into the rail 40. Other ways ofsecuring these parts together will be discussed hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 4a 'of the drawings, illustrated therein is analternative panel 42a which is identical to the panel '42 except that ithas a surface 72 abutting the rail 40. An adhesive may be employedbetween the surface 72 and the rail 40 also.

The article of furniture 30 includes a top 74 which rests on the upperedge of the rail '40 and the upper edge of the panel 42. The top 74 issecured to the rail 40 and the panel 42 in any suitable manner wellknown in the furniture construction art, which further helps to securethe T 36, the rail 40 and thepanel 42 together to rigidify the cornerconstruction 38. The top 74. may be of wood, or any other suitablematerial.

The corner construction 38 at the bottom of the furniture construction34 is similar to that at the top, the T 36, the panel 42 and a lowerrail 76 being interlocked and secured together in the same manner as theT 36, the panel 42 and the upper rail 40.

The corner construction38-is tied to a similar corner construction atthe rear of the article of furniture 30 adjacent the bottom of thefurniture structure 34 by a fore-and-aft rail 78 which is suitablysecured, to the inner surface of the panel 42 adjacent the bottomthereof, as by screws, an adhesive, or the 'like, the ends of the rail78 being suitably secured to the lower rail 76 of the cornerconstruction 38 and to a corresponding lower rail 80 at the rear of thearticle of furniture. With this construction, the top 74 and the lowerrail 80 serve to hold the panel 42 in assembled relation with the T 36and the rails 40 and 76.of the corner construction 38, as well as withcorresponding parts of the corner construction to the rear of the cornerconstruction 38.

The foregoing corner construction 38, which, as previously indicated, isincorporated in all of the corners 32 of the article of furniture .30,provides an extremely rigid construction which will withstand, years ofuse with,- out loosening. Since the crossbars 46 of the Ts 36 form thesides of the corners 32, the corners are protected against marring dueto bumping of other objects thereinto, which is an important feature.The exposed surfaces 50 of the crossbars 46, and the exposed edgesthereof, may be left unfinished, or may be finished in any suitablematching or contrasting fashion, depending on the decor desired. Thus,the Ts 36, in addition to performing a structural function, also perform.a decorative one. Further, since the Ts 36 conceal'the ends or edges ofthe wooden components at the comers 32, such ends or edges may be leftunfinished, which isan important advantage. 7

Another aspect of the use of the Ts 36 isthat they provide all of themechanical orstructural advantages of metal framing, but, since they arespaced and discrete, it is unnecessary to make any metal-to-metalconnections therebetween, thereby'avoiding expensive weldingprocedures,or the like. This is an important advantage of joining the frame members36 togethersolely by means of components of the woodenfurniturestructure'34 Without any metal-to-rnetal joining. V

In the article of furniture 30. illustrated, the frame members or Ts 36,extend downwardly below the fumiture structure 34' to form legs for thearticle of furniture. The lower ends of the Ts 36' may'beequippe'd withglides; orthe like, "if des'ired'to prevent damage to floors,

carpeting, and so forth. However, it is not necessary that the Ts extendbelow the furniture structure 34 and they may terminate at, or adjacent,the bottom of the furniture structure in many instances. Such aconstruction may be utilized, for example, in cabinet-like articleswhich rest directly on the floor and are not spaced upwardly therefrom.

In the particular article of furniture 30 illustrated, the transversespan is sufficient to make at least one intermediate leg desirable, onesuch leg at the front of the article being visible in 'FIG. 1. This legis formed by the lower portion of an intermediate T-shaped frame memberor T 82 having a leg 84 and a crossbar 86. The leg 84 is embedded in thefurniture structure 34 by inserting it between adjacent ends of theupper rail 40 and an aligned upper rail 88 and between the lower rail 76and an aligned lower rail 90. The leg 84 of the intermediate T 82 facesforwardly and the edge thereof is exposed between the upper rails 40 and88 and the lower rails 76 and 90 to match the exposed edges of thecrossbars of the Ts 36 at the front of the article of furniture 30, assuch article is viewed from the front. The crossbar 86 of theintermediate T 82 is recessed into the rear surfaces of the rails 40,76, 88, and 90 and its inner surface abuts these rails, its edges alsoabutting same. The rails 40, 76, 88 and 90 are secured to the crossbar86 of the intermediate T 82 by dowels 92 in much the same manner as theTs 36 aresecured to the furniture structure 34. Thus, the intermediate T82 has much the-same relationship to the furniture structure 34 as theTs 36, the leg 84 thereof being embedded in the furniture structure andhaving its sides concealed thereby, and the inner surface of thecrossbar 86 being in abutting relation with the furniture structure. Theonly difference between the relationship of the T 82 to the furniturestructure 34 and the Ts 36 thereto is that the edge of the leg 84 isexposed, instead of the outer surface of the crossbar 86. However, theintermediate T 82 may be reversed in position, if desired, so that theouter surface of the crossbar 86 is exposed and the edge of the leg 84concealed, this being accomplished merely by turning the T 82 180 sothat the leg 84 thereof faces rearwardly.

The foregoing furniture structure 34 of the article 30 may be equippedwith any desired cupboard and/or drawer arrangement, or the like. In theconstruction illustrated, half the article 30 is equipped with drawers94 and the other half constitutes a cupboard 96 equipped with a door 98,although this arrangement may be varied widely.

Any suitable structure may be utilized for mounting the drawers 94. Forexample, in the construction illustrated, internal Vertical corner posts100 and internal vertical intermediate posts 102 are provided and aresuitably secured to the furniture structure 34, as by attaching them tothe frame members 36 and 82 in any suitable manner. For example, in FIG.8 of the drawings one of the corner posts 100 is shown as secured to theleg 44 of the corresponding T 36 by screws 104. Drawer slides or runners106 for the drawers 94 may be attached in any suitable manner to theintermediate posts 102 and to the corner posts 100 located in the halfof the article of furniture 30 in which the drawers are installed.

The door 98 may be hinged in any suitable manner, as by hinges 108, FIG.3, connecting it to the leg 44 of the adjacent corner T 36.Alternatively, pin hinges may connect the upper and lower edges of thedoor 98 to the upper and lower rails 88 and 90, respectively.

Referring now to FIGS. 9 to 13 of the drawings, illustrated therein isan article of furniture 110 having upright, e.g., vertical, corners 112,the article 110 including a wooden furniture structure 114 and metallicframe means therefor comprising spaced, discrete frame members 116 atthe respective corners. The corners 112 are all of substantially thesame construction so that the following description is applicable toeach of them.

Each corner 112 includes adjacent the top of the furniture structure 114a first side member or rail 118 and a second side member or panel 120disposed at right angles to each other, the corresponding frame member116 being a T or T-section having a leg 122 and a crossbar 124.

The crossbar 124 of each T 116 has a concealed inner surface 126 and anexposed outer surface 128, the inner surface abutting and beingconcealed by an end 130 of the corresponding rail 118. The leg 122 ofeach T 116 is embedded in and concealed by the corresponding rail 118.

.More specifically, the leg 122 is disposed in a groove or slot 132 inthe rail 118 and has its sides 134 and edge 136 in abutting relationwith the walls of such slot.

The rail 118 is secured to the T 116 at each corner 112 by at least onedowel 138 disposed in a hole 140 in the rail and extending through ahole 142 in the leg 122 of the T. In this case, the dowel 138 does notextend all the way through the rail 118 so that the dowel is not visiblefrom the exterior of the article of furniture 110.

At each corner 112, the corresponding rail 118 is provided at its endand adjacent the bottom thereof with a groove or notch 144 whichreceives an edge or tongue 146 of the panel 120, such edge abutting theconcealed inner surface 126 of the crossbar 124 of the corresponding T116, the adjacent side 134 of the leg 122 of the T, and a surface 148 ofthe rail 118 provided by the notch 144 therein. The edge 146 of thepanel 120 is provided with a notch 150 therein so as to furnish thepanel with surfaces 152 and 154 respectively abutting surfaces 156 and158 of the corresponding rail 118.

The panel 120 may be secured to the T 116 and the rail 118 at eachcorner 112 in any one or any combination of the ways hereinbeforediscussed in connection with the article of furniture 30. For example,the panel 120 may be secured by an adhesive, screws, not shown,extending through the crossbar 124 of the corresponding T 116, or byclamping the panel between the front and rear sides of the article offurniture 110, which sides of the article are tied together by a top 160and by lower, fore-and-aft rails 162 suitably secured to lower front andrear transverse rails 164. Each panel 120 is also secured to one of thefore-and-aft rails 162 and to the top 160 so that all of the variouscomponents of the article of furniture 110 are rigidly interlocked.

The transverse edges of the top 160 in the particular constructionillustrated are set in grooves 166 in the rails 118, preferably beingadhesively secured in such grooves. This further serves to rigidlyinterlock the various components of the article of furniture 110.

The corner constructions at the bottom of the article of furniture 110,i.e., the corner constructions comprising the Ts 116, the lowertransverse rails 164, and the panels 120, are similar to those at thetop of the article of furniture. Consequently, a detailed description isunnecessary.

In the construction shown, the article of furniture 110 is closed at therear thereof by a rear panel 168 secured to the legs 122 of the rear Ts116 in any suitable manner, as by screws 170.

The article of furniture 110, in the particular constructionillustrated, is provided with drawers 172 which may be mounted in anysuitable manner. For example, internal corner posts 174 are secured tothe legs 122 of the corresponding Ts 116 by bolts 176 and drawer runners178 are suitably secured to such posts, and may be secured to the panels120 also, as by screws 180, which further serves to secure the panels120 in place. The runners 178 are provided with flanges 182 disposed ingrooves 184 in the sides of the drawers 172.

The Ts 116 are shown as extending below the furniture structure 114 toprovide legs which space the furniture strucrure'upwardly' from thefloor, orthelike. The

lower ends of the Ts 116 maybe provided with-glides, or thelike, as willbe discussed hereinafter in connection with FIG. 14, to prevent damageto the floor or other surface on which the article of furniture rests.However, as hereinbefore explained in connection with the article offurniture 30, it is not necessary that the Ts 116 extend below thefurniture structure 114.

The article of furniture 110 has all of the advantages hereinbeforediscussed in the preamble of this specification and in connection withthe description of the article of furniture 30-50 that'reiterationthereof is not necessary.

FIG. 14 shows a T 290 having a leg 292 and a crossbar 294, the leg 292being shorter than the crossbar 294 and a portion. 296 of the crossbarhaving been bent upwardly under the lower end of the .leg 292. The T290'may be substituted for any of the Ts hereinbefore disclosed, inwhich case the crossbar portion 296 serves as a glide and provide afinished appearance.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosedherein for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that variouschanges, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated in suchembodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined by the claims which follow:

I claim:

' 1. A two-sided corner construction for an article of furniture, or'the like, including: a metallic frame member. of structural crosssection having first and second flanges which include an angleless than180, said first flange having a, concealed inner surface and having anexposed outer surface which forms one of said sides of said cornerconstruction, said second flange having two concealed inner surfaces; anonmetallic first side member extending from said frame member inperpendicular relation to said first flange and having an edge abuttingsaid concealed inner surface of said first flange, said first sidemember also having at least one surface abutting at least oneof saidconcealed inner surfaces of said second flange, and said first sidemember further having another surface spaced from said concealed innersurface of said first flange and cooperating therewith to provide agroove; a nonmetallic second side member extending from. said framemember in perpendicular relation to said second flange and having atongue disposed in and engaging the sides of said groove and terminatingin an edge abutting one of said concealed inner surfaces of saidsecondflange; means securing said first side member to said secondflange comprising nonmetallic dowels extending through said secondflange and at least partially through said first sidemember, said dowelsmaking press fits with said. second flange and said first side memberand being adhesively secured to at least said first side member; andmeans securing said second side member to said frame member.

2. A corner construction as set forth in claim 1 which is upright andwherein said frame member is an upright T-section extending below saidside members and having a crossbar forming said first flange and havinga leg forming said second flange, said crossbar having at its lower enda portion bent upwardly under the lower end of said leg to form a glide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS887,168 Will May 12, 1908 1,432,359 Rosenthal Oct. 17, 1922 1,784,726Hallowell Dec. 9, 1930 2,696,419 Wallance Dec. 7, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS7,529 Great Britain Dec. 4, 1913 621,680 Great Britain Apr. 14, 1949

